7 New Hotels to Look Out for in 2016 in the Philippines

Updated 19 August 2016 – Over the past few years, people have begun talking more about staycations. Lounging inside a hotel has become the ideal holiday format for many Filipinos who have grown tired of making the long journey just to see the beach.

In 2014/2015, options of where to spend your luxurious staycation in the Philippines increased with the opening of hotels like Novotel Manila, Solaire, City of Dreams Manila, Discovery Primea, Ascott BGC, Marco Polo Ortigas Manila, Diamond Makati, and boutique hotels like The Henry Manila. At the same time, we bid farewell to two great hotels: InterContinental Manila and Mandarin Oriental Manila.

But 2016 promises to be an even more exciting year for fans of staycations as dozens of new hotels and resorts in the Philippines are scheduled to open their doors.

Of the upcoming properties, here are 7 new and upcoming internationally affiliated upscale and luxury hotels that staycation buffs will definitely admire:

As part of Hilton Worldwide’s luxury brands, Conrad Manila promises to be a visual icon. Imagine wading in an infinity pool of a hotel designed like a “mega yacht” (As Hilton likes to describe it), or relaxing inside its bathrooms with in-mirrored TV and hydrotheraphy rain showers.

While it stands close to MOA, the hotel sits on top of a 2-floor luxury retail complex called S Maison with its own cinemas, stores, and restaurants with a view of the Manila Bay scenery. The hotel will also have a direct link to SMX.

A LEED gold-certified development, Shangri-La Hotel at The Fort, Manila is one of the three awaited international hotels opening in BGC over the next couple of years. (Can you guess what the two others are?)

The rooms are at least 45 square meters big, which is above industry standards of 30-35 square meters. It will also feature 7 restaurants.

What makes this hotel unique is Kerry Sports Manila, an 8,000-square meter lifestyle and recreation facility housing an NBA-grade indoor basketball court, lap pool, gym, 2 tennis courts, spa, playground, and children’s party rooms, among others. Imagine gaining access to these facilities by just booking at the hotel!

The Citadines brand, which opened its first property in Makati, is part of The Ascott Limited group that owns Ascott and Somerset brands. Like its sister brands, Citadines is in the business of long-stay accommodation, so you can expect larger and fully furnished rooms than those of typical hotels.

Citadines Millennium Ortigas rooms are furnished with kitchen facilities and living and work spaces. Guests can also access a pool, gym, and resident’s lounge. It will open in the third quarter of 2016.

(Update: Sister apartelle brand Somerset has just launched a property in Alabang in August.)

4. Park Inn by Radisson Clark

Park Inn by Radisson Clark. Photo courtesy of Agoda.com

A brand for the millennials because of its hip and vibrant take on design, Park Inn by Radisson opened in SM Clark just before 2015 ended. It marks the beginning of a surge of international brands that will open in Clark such as Marriott and Hilton.

Park Inn by Radisson Clark’s facilities include a fitness center and 2 swimming pools (an adult and kiddie), where you can burn off all that Kapampangan food you’d be indulging around the area.

5. Movenpick Resort Boracay

Movenpick Resort Boracay. Photo courtesy of Delivering Communications

Movenpick Boracay is not a new resort, rather, a known property (Club Panoly, then Sol Marina) being freshened up by a partnership between its owner, Zest-O founder/owner Ambassador Alfredo Yao, and Movenpick Hotels and Resorts.

The 333-room resort will reopen in the second quarter of 2016 carrying the “Swiss standards” Movenpick is known for. Facilities include family rooms, a kids club, games area, Italian, Japanese, and Korean restaurants, and beach club, among others.

6. TRYP by Wyndham

A typical family room in TRYP by Wyndham New York City Times Square South features bunk beds. Photo courtesy of Wyndham Worldwide

A sister brand of Microtel, TRYP by Wyndham is an urban hotel concept that will debut in Southeast Asia in Manila. Although specific details about facilities are yet to available, we can speculate that brand standards seen in other locations will be carried, most notably, TRYP’s unique room concepts like family rooms, featuring bunk beds, and fitness rooms, which are furnished with exercise equipment.

The next time you’ll be looking for a chic hotel in Boracay this year, make sure to check out Aqua Boracay by YOO. Operated by an international group, YOO Hotels & Resorts, the property is a design-driven hotel that is already raking in awards and press coverage. It will use furniture and pieces designed by Vito Selma.

Aqua Boracay in Bulabog Beach will feature 168 rooms, a spa (with a yoga studio), 2 restaurants, 2 pools, and function rooms. The hotel will open in early 2016, according to YOO’s website.

Hi Sydney, I agree! It is one of the two other upcoming hotels in BGC that we hinted in the article. Unfortunately, we have not independently confirmed its target year of opening. We couldn’t find a website yet, too. Let us know if you have any verified information. Cheers

About Workalife

Workalife (a play of “work-life balance”) documents our trips, of contributors and friends. We feature stories and itineraries in many of the hottest and also unbeknownst destinations around the world. More about us here